More accountability of TIF districts needed, Morrissey not the answer

In a recent call made to the Ken DeCoster show, a Rockford citizen asked Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey (I) about a TIF project that his brother and father personally gained from off of Seventh Street. Morrissey dodged the question the caller made when he asked the mayor, “What happened to the money?” Morrissey claims the caller would have to talk to his father or brother about the project. My question is, “If Mayor Morrissey doesn’t know what happened to $500,000 that his father and brother received by THE CITY, then what the hell is he doing as our mayor?”

There is no accountability to what happens to the TIF money that is being stolen by city coffers and being used to reinvest only on East State Street. All the while, West State Street has waited 30 years to get one major project on that side of town. I know a lot of west side people are pulling for Mayor Morrissey, but you are seeing the brunt of major economically deprived decisions that the mayor has made that are negatively affecting that side of town, particularly crime and redevelopment.

It’s time for a change, Rockford. I want to be third on the list of most liked cities by Forbes. That will never happen under Morrissey’s reign.